


Beyond the Fall

by clokcwork_dragon



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Parenthood, i will die on the qrow is ruby's real dad hill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:27:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27511537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clokcwork_dragon/pseuds/clokcwork_dragon
Summary: Qrow has always known his Semblance, his very existence, will only bring pain and death to those he loves.He might have not been able to save Summer, but he swears he will protect Ruby from it at all costs. Even if that means letting her live in a lie.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Summer Rose, Raven Branwen/Taiyang Xiao Long
Comments: 7
Kudos: 25





	Beyond the Fall

**Author's Note:**

> First RWBY fic whoooo!  
> Listen, I know the creators denied Qrow being Ruby's dad, BUT. If he actually was, would they have answered as "hell yes, he is"? That would be huge spoilers! I don't think any creator would do that. Which is why I think they're hiding something :3c  
> In any case, I just wanted to write some angst with the fam. Feat. adorable baby Yang!
> 
> This is unbeta-ed as shit so please be lenient :')

In all his years ever since his Semblance made itself known, Qrow had never believed it would end up like this. Sure, he was aware of what it _did_ , but in that specific instance, he somehow thought he’d be able to fool it. That he would be able to change fate, to protect those he loved from the ill luck he brought them by simply existing.

He had been wrong.

Raven stood beside him in front of Summer’s grave, and although his sister had never been one for sentimentalities, he could feel her hand brushing against his own in a mute gesture of comfort. Taiyang stood by his other side, holding a small bouquet of lilies in his hands. All three of them were quiet, and even the wind and snowflakes that danced around them seemed to do so in silence.

Taiyang broke that silence first, his voice barely rising above a whisper.

“They never found her body.” He started, risking a sideways glance to the dark-haired man. “Perhaps In time she-“

“Don’t.” Raven snapped in her brother’s stead, scarlet eyes striking her husband down like lightning.

“Don’t you give him false hope where you know there is none.”

Taiyang bit his lip and said nothing more. It only served to show that he didn’t believe what he’d said either. Qrow would have laughed at the bitter irony of it all, if there had been anything else left inside of him but an empty pit of darkness.

Suddenly, he turned around, beginning to walk away. He didn’t even look at the inscription on the headstone one last time, and the alarmed exclamations of his companions didn’t make a dent in his decisive stride. There was nothing to hurt or stall him anymore.

Summer Rose was dead, and so was Qrow Branwen.

-

There _was_ one last little thing that had to be taken care of, though.

Yes, quite little indeed. Qrow held the bundle in his arms close against his chest, looking at the peaceful, sleeping face peeking from the blankets. A tuft of brownish-red hair fell over one of the child’s eyes, and absentmindedly, Qrow tucked it away with the tips of his fingers.

She looked so much like her mother. She was so small, so fragile…

Which was why he had to do what he had set off to do.

He knocked on the door, which opened a few second’s later to reveal Taiyang’s face. He was holding another little girl in his arms, and she was staring at the newcomer with wide eyes. Her hair was a golden mane around her head, so much like her mother’s. But the eyes… those violet, fearless eyes, she got them from her father.

“Qrow.” Taiyang sounded surprised. “What brings you here?”

His eyes fell on the sleeping baby a moment later, and he frowned. Stepping aside, he made space for Qrow to walk in.

“Raven went out to buy some more cookies. Yang eats them faster than we can count.” The blonde man chuckled, planting a kiss on his daughter’s forehead. “Why don’t you stay for a while? I see you brought Ruby too.”

“I didn’t come to stay.” The words came out rougher than intended, and in any other moment Qrow would have chastised himself for being so rude to his friend. “There is… something I need you to take care of.”

Taiyang blinked. It was obvious from his expression that he wasn’t entirely sure of how to handle the situation, especially with the kids there. In the end, he just gave up and sat down on the sofa, propping Yang on his knee. The girl giggled and bounced upside down.

Qrow regarded his niece fondly, although there was no hint of a smile in his haggard face. He didn’t say anything else, as he sat opposite of Taiyang and placed the baby next to him, still swaddled in her blankets.

“Tai… I need a favour.”

“Oh- sure, Qrow, you know we’re here for you.” Tai smiled, seeming a little more at ease now that he had a vague idea of what was going on. “What can I do for ya?”

Qrow took a deep breath, not looking at the other man’s face yet. He’d practiced that. That was what he’d come there _for._ So why… why was it so hard? So painful?

_Man up, Branwen. If you love her, if you want to protect her, you’ll do what needs to be done._

“I want to leave Ruby with you.” His voice sounded hoarse and foreign, and he couldn’t really recall opening his mouth and speaking. And yet the words were there, hanging between them like daggers suspended in the air.

“Oh.” Tai said after a moment, and Qrow was confused to notice no real surprise in the other man’s voice. “Sure, we can do that. You’ve work or something?”

Qrow blinked, not realising the point of the question he was being asked. Until it dawned on him, and he groaned, rubbing his face with his palm.

“No, Tai, I meant _leave her with you._ Permanently.”

Taiyang seemed to finally understand, then. Qrow could have sworn the other man’s jaw almost dropped.

“You… You can’t be serious. She’s your daughter!”

“That’s exactly why I want to leave her with you.” Qrow looked away. “She’ll be safer here than she’d ever be with me.”

“Qrow- oh, Qrow, no…” Tai’s face filled with pity, and for a moment Qrow felt the urge to punch him. “Come on, we’ve talked about this. Surely you’ll do a fine job bringing her up! You’ll protect her.”

“Well that clearly didn’t work, did it?” Qrow snapped. “That’s what Summer said when we got married. That’s what she said when I told her what she was signing up for. And look where that got her.”

Taiyang opened his mouth as if to protest, but Qrow put up his hand and stopped him in his tracks. “No, Tai. I already lost her. I won’t lose my daughter to my damnation, too. This time, I’ll do what has to be done.”

Taiyang’s voice was soft when he spoke again. “You’ll be losing her, if you give up on her.”

“I’m not giving up on her. I’m just making sure she grows up safe. And if she has to grow up in a lie for it to happen… so be it.”

The words hadn’t hurt when he’d thought them up, but now as he spoke them, Qrow felt like a shard of ice was being plunged into his heart. Was he truly willing to give it all up? To never have a family, to never hear his little girl call him “dad”… To have her grow up in the shadows?

He knew, however, that the answer would still be yes. What was his own pain in front of Ruby’s life? Nothing, he knew. He’d give it all and then some, if it meant that she’d be safe. Happy.

Taiyang must have known, too. He didn’t attempt to change his mind again. Instead, he just put Yang down on the floor, where she crawled off to play with a toy lion she’d spotted.

“You will truly be able to live without seeing her again?” He whispered, watching his own daughter.

“No.” Qrow admitted. “That would feel like betraying Summer, plus I don’t think I could do it anyway. But… she can never know what I truly am to her. To Ruby, I’ll always be Uncle Qrow. Yang will be her sister. And you will be her father.”

“Of course I don’t mind another daughter, and I’m sure Raven won’t, either. But…” Taiyang’s eyes travelled to little sleeping Ruby, so calm and so oblivious to the evils of the world. He trailed off, and said nothing else, seemingly having accepted the fact that there _was_ nothing else to be said.

“We’ll raise her as we will our own.” He conceded eventually. “I just hope you know what you’re doing, Qrow. There will be no going back.”

“I know.”

Qrow looked at Ruby one last time. He bent down, his lips barely brushing against the baby’s soft, unmarked forehead. A father’s silent goodbye, and all he would allow to himself.

“For her own safety, I do not want there to be.”


End file.
